Crimean self-defense squads in stand off with Ukrainian soldiers at Belbek airport

The autonomous republic’s self-defense forces have met with Ukrainian soldiers who wanted to return to Belbek Sevastopol International Airport. The sides entered into long negotiations, which ended with a peaceful agreement.

Nearly 50 soldiers from the Ukrainian army singing the national
anthem and brandishing the Ukrainian flag came to Belbek airport
at about 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT). They were keen to continue
their service on the airport’s territory.

After self-defense squads’ fired several warning shots in the
air, both sides started negotiating.

"You are deliberately provoking us," one of the members
of the self-defense forces told Ukrainian soldiers. The
conversation was broadcast by Crimean ATR channel.

"How are we provoking you? We have no weapons," the
Ukrainians responded.

After the negotiations, nearly 10 airport military personnel,
including several servicemen, signalmen and dispatchers, were
permitted to stay on the territory of the airport to help ensure
safety of the premises.

“The negotiations involved a lot of give and take, and the
self-defense squads agreed to our demands but on certain
conditions,” Colonel Yury Mamchur from the Ukrainian forces
told the journalists at the scene.

The self-defense squads have been patrolling the grounds outside
the airport since February 28. They were helping to ensure safety
and prevent possible turmoil in Sevastopol and throughout the
whole of Crimea.

Belbek Airport hosts 45 MiG-29 fighter jets and 4 L-39 training
jets. However, only four fighters and one training aircraft are
currently operational.

While most of the airport is patrolled by the self-defense
squads, storage facilities with weapons and ammunition are still
controlled by Ukrainian military forces.

The Crimean authorities have denounced the self-proclaimed government in Kiev and
declared that all Ukrainian law enforcement and military deployed
in the peninsula must take orders from them.

Many units within the national armed forces have started joining
up with the pro-Russian Crimean government and the locals who
organized self-defense against right-wing radicals. Recently, the
commander of the Ukrainian navy and most of the military
stationed in the peninsula took new oaths.

This brings the total number of troops who've reportedly switched
sides to nearly 6,000 in the last two days.

Among those pledging allegiance to Crimea is Rear Admiral Denis
Berezovsky, who was appointed by Kiev last week as chief of the
Ukrainian Navy, but swore to serve the people of Crimea on
Monday.

Crimeans began protesting after the new self-proclaimed
government in Kiev introduced a law abolishing the use of other
languages for official purposes in Ukraine. More than half the
Crimean population is Russian and uses only this language for
their communication. The residents have announced they are going
to hold a referendum to determine the fate of the Ukrainian
autonomous region.